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Sparkchaser went to Kazakhstan. If you care, click here.
- Thread starter sparkchaser
- Start date
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
What an experience! I'm glad you were able to stay with 'ordinary' folks, rather than being housed in a hotel the whole time. Looks like you met some great people and made wonderful memories. I agree with BG, the ship graveyard is awesome.
I am glad for the homestay too. Except for the toilet. 
Next stop was Semey.
Semey is an interesting place. It is in the North and near the Russian border. It is not as dusty, dreary and run down as Aralsk but not as nice and bright as Almaty. Of all the places we went, I think the air pollution in Semey was the worst. I couldn't stop coughing. The only relief I had during our stay in Semey was when we drove out into the steppes. Environmental regulations FTMFW.
Some pics from around Semey.
Random Soviet-era apartment building.
The bridge connecting the new town to the old town. A historic church on the old town side was sacrificed to make way for the bridge.
My fixer called this place Lenin Park. All of the Lenin and Lenin-related statues in Semey were relocated to this small park.
Memorial for the Kazakhs killed in WWII.
Next stop was Semey.
Semey is an interesting place. It is in the North and near the Russian border. It is not as dusty, dreary and run down as Aralsk but not as nice and bright as Almaty. Of all the places we went, I think the air pollution in Semey was the worst. I couldn't stop coughing. The only relief I had during our stay in Semey was when we drove out into the steppes. Environmental regulations FTMFW.
Some pics from around Semey.
Random Soviet-era apartment building.
The bridge connecting the new town to the old town. A historic church on the old town side was sacrificed to make way for the bridge.
My fixer called this place Lenin Park. All of the Lenin and Lenin-related statues in Semey were relocated to this small park.
Memorial for the Kazakhs killed in WWII.
The Afganistan War memorial.
I think the names on the memorial are the names of soldiers from the Semey area that were killed during that war.
This monument is to commemorate the end of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan and of becoming a nuclear free nation.
I think the names on the memorial are the names of soldiers from the Semey area that were killed during that war.
This monument is to commemorate the end of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan and of becoming a nuclear free nation.
Next to that monument is a memorial to the victims of the nuclear weapons testing in Kazakhstan.
This tree is near the memorial to the victims of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. People tie swatches of cloth here for some reason.
I found many of the memorials in Kazakhstan to be very powerful.
This tree is near the memorial to the victims of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. People tie swatches of cloth here for some reason.
I found many of the memorials in Kazakhstan to be very powerful.
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
The memorials are beautiful works of art. I find the last one the most sad though. I wonder what the cloths symbolize..a person lost, prayers for the survivors?
Dunno. I saw the same thing on a shrub near a spring that was considered holy.
Maybe they are for prayers?
Maybe they are for prayers?
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
Dunno. I saw the same thing on a shrub near a spring that was considered holy.
Maybe they are for prayers?
I've seen little scraps of paper(prayers) pinned to an effigy of Father Kino, who built San Xavier Mission near Tucson..so this is probably the right purpose for the scraps of cloth tied to something considered holy.
Cute little story I almost forgot about:
Kazakh Mama has two children: a son and a daughter. I guess they are 10 and 13, respectively. I brought the family a gift of some peppermint bon bons, two little bottles of schnapps, and put it into a FC München soccer club plastic box. I presented the box to Kazakh Mama and later that day my fixer told me that FC München was the son's favorite soccer team in the whole world and the son wanted to know how the American knew that was his favorite team. Cute kid.
Kazakh Mama has two children: a son and a daughter. I guess they are 10 and 13, respectively. I brought the family a gift of some peppermint bon bons, two little bottles of schnapps, and put it into a FC München soccer club plastic box. I presented the box to Kazakh Mama and later that day my fixer told me that FC München was the son's favorite soccer team in the whole world and the son wanted to know how the American knew that was his favorite team. Cute kid.
abecedarian
Well-Known Member
Smart American for listening to that still small voice in his head and choosing the RIGHT plastic box..what are the odds?
It was the only plastic box I could find. 
:
:
canuck
Active Member
Hi Sparkchaser: Your pictures and explanations are amazing. Loved the artwork on the abandoned boats. Statues and memorials are great. I think maybe the scraps of cloth are like the little prayer flags the monks place in Tibet? What a wonderful trip you've had and lots of experiences which will last you a lifetime I'm sure. That Aral Sea receded an incredible distance - maybe I missed it in your posts but is there a scientific explanation for it?
Yes there is an explanation. I thought I posted it but I didn't.
The Aral Sea used to be one of the four largest lakes in the world. It was also one of the most important fisheries in the Soviet Union. Today the Aral Sea’s surface area had shrunk by about 74% and its volume by almost 85%. This was because rivers that once fed the sea were being partially diverted for a massive irrigation project in the Kyzylkum Desert of central Asia by the Soviet Union. They had this dream to amke the desert green and grow lots of cotton. Normally this would not be a problem but the amount of water reaching the sea from the rivers was not enough to compensate for evaporation on the sea.
As the sea began to shrink, it became hypersalinated and destroyed the ecosystem. The fish died and the fishery industry around the sea collapsed. As the sea dried up, it left behind salt, pesticide and fertilizer residue, and other toxic chemicals which would get picked up by the winds and form toxic dust storms. Today, people living in the area have a high rate of lung diseases and certain kinds of cancer. The salt gets redeposited on farmland and ruins crops. To add insult to injury, without the stabilizing effect of a large body of water, the climate has also changed: winters are colder and summers are hotter.
In short, it was and still is a massive clusterfuck.
The Aral Sea used to be one of the four largest lakes in the world. It was also one of the most important fisheries in the Soviet Union. Today the Aral Sea’s surface area had shrunk by about 74% and its volume by almost 85%. This was because rivers that once fed the sea were being partially diverted for a massive irrigation project in the Kyzylkum Desert of central Asia by the Soviet Union. They had this dream to amke the desert green and grow lots of cotton. Normally this would not be a problem but the amount of water reaching the sea from the rivers was not enough to compensate for evaporation on the sea.
As the sea began to shrink, it became hypersalinated and destroyed the ecosystem. The fish died and the fishery industry around the sea collapsed. As the sea dried up, it left behind salt, pesticide and fertilizer residue, and other toxic chemicals which would get picked up by the winds and form toxic dust storms. Today, people living in the area have a high rate of lung diseases and certain kinds of cancer. The salt gets redeposited on farmland and ruins crops. To add insult to injury, without the stabilizing effect of a large body of water, the climate has also changed: winters are colder and summers are hotter.
In short, it was and still is a massive clusterfuck.
I don't think we've learned anything.
OK, so my main reason for going to Semey was to see the Semipalatinsk Test Site which happens to be close to three hours outside of Semey.
We followed the highway for almost two hours and the remaining time was spent on this road:
When we were getting near, we could see these concrete test structures.
I was told that some head measurement and test equipment and others were made of different types of concrete so damage could be studied.
OK, so my main reason for going to Semey was to see the Semipalatinsk Test Site which happens to be close to three hours outside of Semey.
We followed the highway for almost two hours and the remaining time was spent on this road:
When we were getting near, we could see these concrete test structures.
I was told that some head measurement and test equipment and others were made of different types of concrete so damage could be studied.
This area was where the Soviets detonated their first atom bomb.
This is Ground Zero:
This is very near Ground Zero:
All over the ground, you can find black glass that is similar to the Trinitite you find at the Trinity Site in New Mexico.
Yes, it is still radioactive.
I wish I could have brought this chunk home with me but I didn’t want to try to explain to Customs at Frankfurt why I set their expensive radiation detection equipment off.
This is Ground Zero:
This is very near Ground Zero:
All over the ground, you can find black glass that is similar to the Trinitite you find at the Trinity Site in New Mexico.
Yes, it is still radioactive.
I wish I could have brought this chunk home with me but I didn’t want to try to explain to Customs at Frankfurt why I set their expensive radiation detection equipment off.
I think this may have been part of a bridge.
Here you can see how some of the concrete was melted:
The Semipalatinsk Test Site is HUGE. There would be no way to see it all in a week, let alone a day. From 1949 to 1985, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests here. If that was not enough to appall you, they did this without regard for the environment or the people living nearby. Estimates place the number of people affected by the testing at around 200,000.
It was a somber place to be sure.
On the way back to the “main” road, our driver pointed out the area known as URDF-3 (Unidentified Research and Development Facility-3) – a Soviet R&D facility for nuclear-powered space propulsion, similar to the United States’ Orion Project. It is guarded so this was the best shot I could get.
Here you can see how some of the concrete was melted:
The Semipalatinsk Test Site is HUGE. There would be no way to see it all in a week, let alone a day. From 1949 to 1985, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests here. If that was not enough to appall you, they did this without regard for the environment or the people living nearby. Estimates place the number of people affected by the testing at around 200,000.
It was a somber place to be sure.
On the way back to the “main” road, our driver pointed out the area known as URDF-3 (Unidentified Research and Development Facility-3) – a Soviet R&D facility for nuclear-powered space propulsion, similar to the United States’ Orion Project. It is guarded so this was the best shot I could get.
Occlith
Well-Known Member
Is this black glass the man-made radioactive version of obsidian?
Would it be safe to have that around or are radioactive levels high enough to harm people?
Leonardo Noto
Member
If you're not already...
Sparkchaser,
If you're not already working on a book about your travels, you need to start. You take some great pics and your observations are very witty. Not blowing sunshine up your ass, man. Really, get to writing. Something with photos every other page.
Sparkchaser,
If you're not already working on a book about your travels, you need to start. You take some great pics and your observations are very witty. Not blowing sunshine up your ass, man. Really, get to writing. Something with photos every other page.